You call me a failure, I just laugh.
Making light of all the books on your back.
I've made shackles out of my past.
But you've made them out of your future.

A vine that flourishes free
Won't grow for you in criss-cross lines
A bird doesn't go straight from point A to point B.
Why formulate human minds?

Minds in classes fit for no other name.
With complex castes all their own.
What else are we, but products of shame
Fit for no other purpose, but to be grown.

One out of many, Out of many, one.
No war to fight, but battles to be won.
So tell me, as you say I failed.
Which of us is doomed to be jailed?
7:34 PM 5/13/2007

Education is a privilege. Knowledge is power. "Insert cheesy pro-education slogan."

Seriously, in all probability, you're most likely to be jailed. Most prisoners fucked around in school.


Some teachers exercise oppression in their classroom, but they're fun to fuck with. Don't let them ruin your entire high school career for you. Granted, we live in a credential society. A lot of this is bullshit, but if you expect to do much of anything you do have to buy in somewhat to these norms.

Here we get into such petty trivialities as "anything is subjective" or "Why does being successful matter?", to which I'll retaliate with a quote from Teddy Roosevelt. "Far and away, the best prize this life offers is the chance to work hard at work with doing." We humans need some kind of struggle in our life to balance happiness. Unrestrained satisfaction very quickly leads to boredom and a subsequent depression.

The poem itself was poorly constructed. It was not strong on any poetic device, lacked any descriptive nature, and is secretly angsty (gasp! I bet you didn't even know that!).

__________________
Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

No, I was fully aware of the underlying angst. It's pretty obvious. I'm a teenager, of course I'm angsty!

Well, if you don't like it- a poet is not a jukebox. :P
Even though that poem has nothing to do with me, and Dudley Randall >>>>> Me.

Anyway, thanks for the words of wisdom. I just really think a few of these AP kids are pretty soulless. I was talking to this girl who was applying for AP Bio, and looking at her was like staring into a void. Maybe I just came across the worst of the best.

Sorry if I came off as a prick.

I know what you mean. I know some people that are in AP classes not due to an elevated desire to learn, but just because that's what is expected of them. They're very lifeless and mechanical. No spark at all.

__________________
Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

I realize that you're a moderator, and I don't think my criticism of your comment necessarily applies in this situation because the OP obviously doesn't fall under my 'highly gifted' exception, but don't say something like, "Seriously, in all probability, you're most likely to be jailed. Most prisoners fucked around in school" ever again.

First of all, it's logically fallacious to assume that because most prisoners 'fucked around in school' then someone who fucks around in school is likely to go to prison. That's backwards reasoning, and it doesn't work here at all. Secondly, most highly gifted children also develop a very negative attitute about school, so it isn't even necessarily a bad thing.

Most TEACHERS in today's academic environment even have a negative attitude about school because of NCLB..... Haha, just had the urge to say something like, "Does that mean that our own OP is 'likely' to become a teacher?"

Anyways, just, I donno why your comment set me off. I'm in a bad mood... Sorry in advance.

Sorry, I should clarify. I wasn't speaking from any knowledge of a nationwide statistic, but everybody I know that is in trouble with the law or has had trouble with the law was very apathetic towards their studies. I wasn't saying it as an absolute, and it was admittedly erroneous. The correlation isn't that they fucked around in school, but their attitudes towards school coincide with their attitudes towards the law. I suppose the point I was trying to make was that it would be wise to not let this happen.


Perhaps some irony in this is that I'm going to be a teacher. I've fucked around throughout my high school career, and am feeling rather bitter about the fact that I could've achieved so much more than I have.

__________________
Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Don't worry K_C- Modding this forum, I can see why you would be a prick sometimes. I read some of the stuff in here, and I can see how constant exposure to certain threads would set anyone into prick/bitch mode.

You know what's kind of funny about this conversation is, I kind of want to be a substitute teacher when I'm older. I'd like to keep corrupting the youth well into old age. Also, a lot of substitute teachers fucked around in high school, have psychological issues, are in bands, etc. So I should be okay for that path. If not, there are always other options besides Crime University.

And about the whole jailed comment- I'm a fairly moral person. The only illegal thing I've ever done is shoplifting. What I meant originally when I said "which of us will be jailed", is that a lot of people are dooming themselves to lives they really aren't going to be happy with. The AP girl I was talking about, let's call her Kim, wanted to be a doctor. When I asked what she wanted to do, she said didn't know, she just wanted to "help people". It was really vague. She didn't know what kind of doctor, she didn't say she found anything interesting, she didn't have any real goals. She just said she wanted to be a doctor. Not that helping people is a bad idea, but she was just so vague about it. I mean, you can "help people" a million different ways. I don't think she wanted to be a doctor, really.

I think she had the typical pushed-into-college choice: "You cahn be lawya-docta-oa-engieea."

Did I mention she's really religious, Asian, and her parents didn't allow her to date anyone, go out, watch TV, etc.? Maybe she's not soulless, but kind of repressed. I worry about her. She didn't seem to hate it though. So maybe she is soulless. I'm not saying my way of life is best, I'm not even saying it's good for you, but goddamn . . . some people need to go to a school dance or a party, or SOMETHING.

About the whole "gifted" comment - I would be "highly gifted", but I sabotaged my brain early on with violence, sugar and cartoons. I don't think "gifted" would have worked out anyway. There are too many "gifted" kids these days. I took an English honors class this year. The fact one girl wrote an essay about a jacket she bought at the mall, using the phrases "most warmest and prettiest" and "super-awesome" kind of destroyed my faith in the school system's judgment of "gifted".

I also doubt in the school's judgment of "safety". I took out a tiny exacto knife during that English class to cut off a tag on my friend's shirt, and I nearly got sent to the office. But they let all the "gangstas" roam around with more weapons on them than the average poster in W&C. All the teachers know they have them, but as long as they never leave their pockets, it's fine.

I'm a 5'3" 15-year-old girl! What the fuck am I going to do, stab someone?! I carry it around because scissors don't fit in my pocket next to my nail file. Are they going to take those away too?!

Basically I hate everyone. I hate the smart kids, I hate the stupid kids, I hate the smart stupid kids, I hate the stupid smart kids, I hate me, I hate you, and everyone should die.
[/rant]

Finally! Someone who agrees! It would end all of our troubles.

__________________
Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Exactly! Think of the possibilities!

There'd be no global warming- all the people polluting would be dead. Or if the global climate shift came anyway for whatever reason , then it wouldn't matter, because everyone would be dead!

No more crime, no more problems, just millions of perfectly content corpses with no problems!

I'm an AP student.....

Now to quote SLC Punk....

"You can do a helluva lot more damage in the system than you can outside of it"


idk it goes something like that...perhaps its just an exscuse for conformity but who gives a fuck am i right or am i right?...aww fuck it